Agitating means for cleaning filters



Nov. 4,1952 G. H. VOKES AGITATING MEANS FOR CLEANING FILTERS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Oct. 11, 1949 Zoe/afar Gaiz/d/z 1/6/46 Nov. 4, 1952 VOKES 2,616,518

AGITATING MEANS FOR CLEANING FILTERS Filed Oct. 11, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Gortbn fiezilzerlwzl olzes,

' Inventor;

Attorney Patented Nov. 4, 1952 AGITATING MEANS FOR CLEANING FILTERS Gordon Heatherton Vokes, Guildford, England, assignor to Vokes Limited, Guildford, England Application October 11, 1949, Serial No. 120,767 In Great Britain October 18, 1948 3 Claims. 1

There are well-known filtering installations in which bays or sections of filtering units are agitated and in some cases a reverse flow simultaneously passed through the filtering material to remove accumulated material from the dirty side. For example, there is described in German specification No. 441,252 such an arrangement in which air already cleaned by other sections is periodically passed in the reverse direction through a section undergoing cleaning and heaters are simultaneously oscillated inside suitably mounted bags or pockets of filtering material.

The present invention is designed to arrange in an effective manner a balancing action between the heaters in adjacent units, so that excessive vibration is not transmitted to the main framing of the installation.

In a filtering installation of my design slotted or equivalent bars are used to transmit the motion from an oscillating shaft to heaters in the several tiers of fixed units in a bay or section undergoing cleaning. In a simple form of the present invention, cranks transmitting movement to alternate heaters (or very small groups of such heaters) are on opposite sides of a datum line passing through the oscillatory axes of the heaters in their midoperative positions. The sets of heaters in each bag or unit are preferably themselves balanced by one another or by balancing weights, and as the movements and acceleration of the heaters in adjacent bags or groups of bags are alternately clockwise and anti-clockwise, excessive vibration is readily avoided.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of an installation showing a number of filtering units, and Figure 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section of the installation shown in Figure 1.

Each filtering unit I is of the elongated bag type adapted to collect impurities on its outer surface and has a spindle 2 conventionally mounted for oscillation within it. At one end of the spindle, outside the unit, is secured a crank 3 provided with a pin 4 engaged in a slot 5 of a reciprocated bar 6. Pairs of beater members I are carried by the spindles 2 within bags of the units I.

In Figure 1 of the drawings is shown a datum line A-A, and it will be observed that the cranks 3 and pins 4 which are above the datum line have been shown in an operative position, corresponding to a movement of the bar 6 to the right, in which position the corresponding spindles 2 and the beater members I connected to them have just completed a clockwise movement.

Similarly those cranks and pins 4 which are below the datum line A-A are shown in their extreme right hand position of movement wherein they have just accomplished an anti-clockwise movement which has been transmitted to the corresponding spindles 2 and heater members I.

It will be apparent that a subsequent movement of the bar 6 to the left, as shown in the drawings, will cause the spindles 2 connected to the cranks 3 above the datum line to perform an anti-clockwise movement, and will cause the spindles 2 connected to the cranks 3 below the datum line to perform a clockwise movement. The heater members 7 carried by the spindles 2 are thus balanced by one another for rotary movement.

I claim:

1. In a filtering installation in which bays or sections of fixed filtering bags or pockets are subjected to balanced pairs of beater members in each bag or pocket, means to oscillate selected balanced pairs of beater members and simultaneously to oscillate other selected balanced pairs of beater members in the opposite directions, the other selected members being mounted in bags or pockets located between bags or pockets wherein the first-mentioned selected members are mounted.

2. In a filtering installation in which sections of filtering units are subjected to agitation, fixed filtering bags, beater members in each bag mounted for balanced rotary oscillation about an aXis within the bag, cranks operatively connected to the heaters outside each bag and projecting in equal numbers on opposite sides of a datum line and means to oscillate said cranks simultaneously so arranged that while all the cranks on one side of the datum line cause movement of the attached beater members clockwise all the cranks on the other side of the datum line cause movement of the attached beater members anticlockwise.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein the means to oscillate the cranks comprises a reciprocated member engaging all the cranks.

GORDON HEATHERTON VOKES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 870,830 Lechtenberg Nov. 12, 1907 1,356,086 Plaisted Oct. 19, 1920 1,868,876 Boesger July 26, 1932 2,072 906 Rosenberger Mar. 9, 1937 2,204,590 Hamilton June 18, 1940 

